Scanning Charge

 "Hello there."

 "Roko!"

 Drift, Ohm and Reaumur ran past the masked Brook to greet their friend.

 "It's been a while!" Ohm slapped Roko on the back, "You've been gone for like a month now?"

 "It's been busy." Roko sighed, "Though the worst of it should be over now. How's Romer been behaving?"

 "Oh, he's gained the trust of the elven soldiers after your fight with him." Drift explained, "They're getting along like a house on fire now. The soldiers all said they've never had a more confident leader. It's honestly a bit concerning. Their old generals are...particularly concerned to say the least. And apparently it's our job to fix it."

 "Need help with that?"

 "I thought your plate was full."

 "It could be fuller."

 "Hah. I'm starting to see what you mean. Even a hero wouldn't poke their nose in this mess."

 "Is that a problem?"

 "No, that's just you." Ohm clapped a hand on Roko's shoulder, "We've got this. You finish what you started first."

Reaumur nodded with a smile, "By the way, who's your friend?"

 The dark elves turned to look at the masked and hooded Brook who was standing there, frozen in surprise and fear behind her mask.

 "Ah, don't worry about them." Roko answered, "They're just someone I offered to help out."

 "They seem a bit shady." Reaumur frowned, "Are you sure you want to help them?"

 "They're harmless, I assure you."

 "I dunno...something about them feels off."

 "A-Ahem!" Brook cleared her throat as she continued to address the elven general, "Sir Gale. I'd like for you to take me to the secret bunker."

 "Who are you?" The elf general frowned, "How do you know about the bunker?"

 "No questions, general." Brooke pulled a large stone seal from within her cloaks and showed it to the soldier, "Just take us there."

 "T-That's the royal seal! ...Alright. I don't know who you are but if you're acting on Queen Rivera's orders, I'll oblige."

 "Your assistance is appreciated, general." Brooke said as she returned the seal to her cloak.

 "A royal seal?" Ohm frowned, "What is she? A royal assassin?"

 "What's this about a secret bunker?" Reaumur frowned, "I've never heard of this. Are you sure about this woman, Roko?"

 "I'm aware of what I'm getting into." Roko replied, "I'll explain it later if I can. For the time being, can I ask you a favor and keep Romer busy? I'm not sure any of us would like it if he interrupted us."

 "We can do that but..." Reaumur frowned.

 "We trust you Roko." Drift placed a hand on Reaumur and Drift's shoulders, "We'll keep Romer out of the way."

 "Thanks you guys. I really appreciate it."

 "Just make sure to see us soon okay?"

 "Got it. I won't leave you hanging for a month."

 "Seriously, we've spent more time away from each other than we have together."

 "Lay off my back, I've been busy."

 The general, Gale, lead Roko and Brook to one of the barracks' armory. A small room filled primarily with weapons, Roko could see no sign of any objects that he recognized from his brief fight with Waur. Gale moved towards one of the torches on the wall and pulled it down. Triggering a lever behind it, the stone floor beneath them began shifting, pulling away to reveal a staircase underneath them. Following the elves down, Roko discovered a small meeting room. Furnished more tactically, there were more books here than weapons in the room above. But the most eye catching things were five pieces of equipment that laid in the middle of the meeting table. Their gold castings tarnished with dirt and grime from improper care. Some of them were vaguely familiar but Roko hadn't really took much notice of Waur's appearance before their fight.

 "This is it." Brook sighed as she looked over the magical equipment laid out in front of her, "This is what Waur had on him when he died."

 "So..." Roko picked up the circlet, "This is what augmented Waur's intelligence?"

 "Yep. That's the Intellect Coronet. Wearing it practically doubles your intellect. How that manifests varies from person to person. But it's undoubtedly dangerous."

 "Dangerous? Why?"

 "Because it's cursed." Brook scoffed.

 "Cursed? How?"

 "You don't know about cursed equipment? For starters, once you put them on, you can't remove them without some extreme measures."

 "How extreme?"

 "Well Waur had to die for us to grab these off his body." Brook shrugged, "As for ways that let you stay alive at the end, I'd like to know as well. There are more rumors of how to get rid of cursed equipment than there are actual cursed equipment one would find in their lifetime."

 "There really hasn't been a way to remove cursed equipment?"

 "Well, us elves wouldn't know. We're not the ones creating them or looking for them. I hear you humans used to have some special magic that could work but uh..."

 "Gods gone?"

 "Gods gone." Brook nodded, "Also they generally have an equally negative drawback to their powerful effects. That circlet for example? It drives you into conquering people and places. It messes with your brain, makes you violent. Except that's not really a downside when you're already a bloodthirsty monster like an orc."

 "Hm." Roko put down the circlet and turned to the rest of the equipment laid out in front of him, "And you don't know anything about the rest of these things?"

 "I've pulled up a few scattered details. But what exactly each does and what drawback they impose are still unknown."

 "And that's what I'm here for. But what do you plan on doing with these equipment? What are you going to do after they're identified?"

 "Hmmm..." Brook stared at Roko, her expression hidden behind her mask but her suspicion and consideration carried through in her voice, "...Alright. The investigation will continue, marking down the history of their creation and where they went. How exactly they came into the hands of Waur. From there once we have a good record of Waur's reign with them and our records are complete, we seal them away. So they can never be used again."

 "I see."

 "So can you do it?"

 "I can." Roko replied, "But can you really figure out all that history on your own?"

 "Are you offering to help?"

 "Yes but not necessarily my help."

 "What do you mean?"

 "Wow, so you're saying these doodads are haunted?" Helena said as she picked up the circlet and turned it over in her hands.

 "Cursed but close enough." Kaguya sighed, "To be honest, this is the first time I've seen one in person."

 "I've heard legends of cursed equipment." Momo nodded, "They're nothing to joke about."

 "And Waur was wearing five of these?" Corissa bit her lip, "That's scary."

 "What the hell are they doing here?!" Brook hissed as she pulled Roko to the side.

 "You wanted to quickly trace these artifacts' history?" Roko said, "These are princesses with significant power in the world. They can help."

 "I thought I told you this was a discreet matter!"

 "From what I understand, you didn't want word to get out that these cursed equipment exist right? These princess lead people and country, making connections with people with just as much if not more power than them. They can be trusted to keep a secret."

 "What about the knights then?!" Brook pointed at Mikado and Varis who simply stood to the side of the room. Roland was also there but he was with the rest of the girls around the table.

 "Those two I've rarely seen speak much of anything." Roko smirked, "Roland on the other hand...might be a problem but Helena generally keeps him on a short leash."

 "How am I going to explain this to my mom?" Brook moaned quietly as she held her head.

 "Hey, nice ring." Helena said as she picked up one of the cursed objects, "I know a jeweler in the black market that might be familiar with this."

 "This sword looks well made but I don't really recognize it." Momo said as she looked over the cursed weapon, "Maybe sensei knows more about it."

 "Hmm..." Kaguya tapped on the circlet with her knuckles, "This is alchemist's gold isn't it? They're magically alchemized gold meant to be easier to enchant. They're a pretty rare resource and creation and export of it is pretty heavily recorded. I wonder what other secrets its composition holds."

 "This might work out." Brook nodded.

 "Of course." Roko sighed.

 "Hey so..." Helena spoke up, "These things are cursed right? What do they do?"

 "Right, I've scanned them so I can tell you what they do." Roko said as he walked back to the table.

 "So that's why they called you." Momo smiled, "Honestly, they should've called you sooner."

 "Yeah, just give me more work why don't you?" Roko muttered, "Alright, first of all, there's this circlet. The Intellect Coronet increases your intelligence but causes aggression and feelings of conquest."

 "Wow. So it's like that spell you taught me." Momo said.

 "This ring is called Thrice Tactica. It can allow you to cast fire, ice and lightning spells."

 "Wow, three whole spells?" Helena whistled, "That's kind of scary."

 "This necklace is Black Swallow. It casts armament magic over your body."

 "Armament magic..." Momo looked at the necklace curiously.

 "Next, this sword is called Dead Grinder. It creates a projection of a chainsaw over the blade."

 "What's a chainsaw?" Roland asked.

 "Finally we have his bracers. They're called the Giant's Grasp and can change the size of anything the wielder touches, including the wielder himself."

 "So it can make things bigger and smaller?" Kaguya asked.

 "That's right." Roko replied, "Any questions?"

 "You said the circlet makes you more violent but you didn't say anything for the rest of the items." Helena said, "Do they not have drawbacks?"

 "I knew you'd notice." Roko sighed, "Unfortunately, my spells don't want to tell me that information."

 "Really?" Momo blinked, "Something even your spells can't tell you?"

 "My spells aren't all knowing." Roko growled, "I know their limitations more than anybody else. Though it's hard to put into words, the spells are more...experimental than clairvoyant. Like any information I get is information I could have gleamed after examining the object for a long period of time. How long exactly I don't know but it seems it draws a line at equipping cursed items."

 "Which is a problem for me." Brook said as she joined them at the table, "I need to know their effects to finish documenting them. Not so we can use it ourselves but so we know how to counter them should they escape into another person's hands."

 "Yeah so we danced around this to be polite at the start but...who are you?" Helena asked.

 "Oh. Umm..."

 "This is Brook."

 "Roko!" Brook hissed.

 "They don't know who you are." Roko said.

 "I guess..."

 "Brook..." Helena mused, "You mean the elf princess?!"

 "ROKO!"

 "Hm. Guess I was wrong. Go figure."

 "You knew they'd know! You KNEW they'd know!" Brook cried as she began shaking Roko by the collar.

 "Would you believe me if I said I didn't?"

 "NO!"

 "Well it's true I didn't know for sure they'd know." Roko smirked, "But I had a feeling they might."

 "Give me one good reason I don't assassinate you right now!"

 "Cause you're not an assassin? Did you forget who you were there?"

 "Also, we're right here." Kaguya added, "This wouldn't be much of an assassination. Just a murder."

 "Sooo..." Corissa spoke up, "If this girl is the elf princess then does the fact that she's wearing a mask and stuff mean..."

 Brook sighed and removed her mask, drawing her hood back.

 "You're a dark elf." Momo raised an eyebrow, "So does that mean the prophecy has already been fulfilled?"

 "Roko?" Helena smirked, "What did you do?"

 "It's not me." Roko growled, "I don't know why you'd think it was me. The prophecy's been fulfilled for 400 years now."

 "Damn, so Rivera's been keeping this on the down low for over 400 years?" Helena whistled, "That's impressive."

 "Enough about me!" Brook snapped, "The problem are the cursed objects!"

 "What are the problems exactly?" Momo asked.

 "We need to find out their drawbacks. And record their history."

 "About that." Roko spoke up, "Doesn't recording their history mean we have to figure out how they came into Waur's hands? Doesn't that mean we need to find the orc camp?"

 "Yes but my mom's on that." Brook sighed, "We're looking through every possible lead we have to try and figure out where that camp is."

 "We have a pretty good lead here." Roko picked up the circlet.

 "What, you think we can find any hints off these things?" Brook scoffed, "Good luck. We looked over everything and came up with nothing conclusive."

 "I have some people I think could help."

 "Who's that?"

 "So you're telling me somebody fit a whole ass demon in this?" Ohm said as he picked up the ring and looked at it in the light.

 "They're cursed, not genies." Drift chuckled, "Though I'm surprised to hear Waur used these."

 "I'm surprised there's a place like this in the armory." Reaumur said as she looked around, "I've been through this place quite a few times now and I never knew about this."

 "We're just as surprised as you!" Helena grinned, "We didn't know about this until like ten minutes ago!"

 As everyone began a bit of small talk, Roko turned to look at Brook who was huddled in the corner, hood drawn back over her head, trying to pretend like she's not there while she slowly hyperventilates.

 "You okay?" Roko walked over.

 "I've made the biggest mistake of my life." Brook whispered to herself, "I've made the biggest mistake of my life trusting you."

 "Really? Sure it wasn't falling in love with that Gareth guy?"

 "Don't you bad mouth him!" Brook snarled, "I asked specifically for these dark elves to not be involved!"

 "I don't remember making that agreement."

 "IT. WAS. IMPLIED." Brook growled through taunt teeth.

 "Now now, let's calm down." Momo smiled as she walked over to them, "This is the most logical choice if you think about it."

 "How?!" Brook hissed, "How are you going to explain this?!"

 "You don't want this being exposed to other elves right?" Roko said, "Then how were you going track down these cursed objects to the orc camp? Do you have the skills? We can't hire a normal elf to do the tracking for us and if one of us does the tracking our absence would be noticed. The only ones with tracking expertise and the excuse to leave the city for long periods of time are the dark elves."

 "You really think these...people are up to the task?" Brook snarled, "Weren't they getting attacked by an owlbear when you first found them?"

 "Do you know what we were doing in the forest before then?" Drift asked as he walked over, Brook hastily putting her mask back on.

 "What?" She asked as she stood up to face the friendly dark elf.

 "We were looking for Klaus." Reaumur said as she joined them, "You know, because he ran away again."

 "Do you know how hard it is to track down an animal that's as intelligent as you that can also teleport?" Ohm said, a bit less friendly, "Can you even imagine?"

 "...No..."

 "Well, that's our resume." Drift smiled, "We're fully willing to help out with this task for no profit as we are also no fans of the orcs and would like them away from our forest. We can work together on this. If you trust us."

 Brook stared at Drift, her considerations hidden behind her mask. She made one cautious, curious head turn towards Roko.

 "Trust whoever you want but the most important thing is to trust in yourself." Roko shrugged.

 "...Alright." Brook held out a hand towards the dark elves, "It's too late to keep you guys out of this at this point. You three have proven to be helpful so I'll trust in your abilities for this task."

 "We appreciate it." Drift accepted Brook's handshake with a warm smile, "And we won't fail you."

 "So can we see your face now?"

 "Ohm!" Reaumur hissed.

 "What?! You can't expect me to work with someone whose face I don't know."

 "No, it's fine." Brook sighed, "I know proper negotiation."

 Brook reached up and removed her mask, her dark skin throwing the dark elves in such a shock that they took a step back.

 "You're a dark elf?!" Ohm cried, "Are you like...undercover?!"

 "I am Brook. Daughter of the Queen, Rivera. A long time ago, I fell in love with a human and became a dark elf."

 The dark elfs turned to each other, confused. Then they turned back to Brook.

 "How does that work?"

 "Wait, you don't know?" Helena turned to the dark elves in surprise, "I thought this happened all the time! Well...on occasions."

 "I mean it does but we don't really understand how it works exactly." Drift scratched his head, "There's only like a handful of dark elves in our village that were converted from normal elves. And no one really has an explanation for it so we just kind of ignored it."

 "Huh." Helena blinked, "Wonder why that happens..."

 "Well that explains why you felt weirdly...familiar to us..." Drift gulped, "I...don't know how to take this information..."

 "My being a dark elf doesn't make us friends." Brook frowned, "And this fact is an absolutely positively non-negotiable SECRET! If I found out you blabbed about this to ANYONE, I'll-"

 "N-No need for specifics!" Reaumur gulped, "We won't tell anyone!"

 "Good." Brooke sighed, "Now that that's over, I can go sleep off this migraine I feel is comi-"

 "Don't we have one more problem?" Momo asked.

 "What?" Brook gave a pained expression.

 "You need to know about the cursed item's drawbacks right?" Momo asked.

 "Yes..."

 "Well that's simple. We just put them on ourselves."

 "What?!" Brook and the dark elf trio cried.

 "Simple is as simple does." Helena smiled, "We put them on. Wait a while for any side effects, jot them down and then take them off."

 "Um, are you forgetting the fact that these are CURSED?! You can't take them off once you put them on!" Brook grabbed her hair in frustration, "Roko, what is wrong with the people you call for help?!"

 "They're right though." Roko sighed, "Putting them on is the only way we'll record their full effects."

 "Everyone's gone insane." Brook muttered, "Maybe it's not too late to kill everyone and start all over."

 "Chill, girl." Helena grinned, "We have a secret weapon."

 "What?" Brook snarled.

 "Corissa." Roko, Helena, Momo and Kaguya all said and turned to look at the beautiful princess.

 "Can you use holy to disrupt the curses on these objects long enough for us to take it off?" Roko asked.

 Corissa looked back at everyone, not surprised but not with confidence either. She sighed and replied, "I think I can. I can't guarantee it but I've actually been making progress in controlling holy since Roko helped me. I think it's worth a shot."

 "Well first we should probably test it to make sure you can." Roko nodded, "Though that means one of us has to put one of these on."

 "Hmmm..." Helena picked up the Intellect Coronet, "So this one increases the user's intelligence right?"

 "Yes but we already know what that one's drawback is."

 "Hmmm..."

 Everyone turned to look at Roko with unnerving eyes.

 "No." Roko said as he began to realize what was happening, "I'm not putting that on."

 "Momo, restrain him."

 "Wait, what?!" Roko cried as Momo suddenly appeared behind him and sneaked her arms underneath Roko's, lifting him up into the air, "Wait, why me?!"

 "We have to test it Roko." 

 "But why that one?! We already know about that one!"

 "We all want to see what happens if we put this on you." Helena said as she approached him with the circlet, eyes hungry with curiosity.

 "Someone stop her!" Roko yelped. Looking around, everyone just adverted their eyes. Some innocently. Some guiltily. None of them looked willing to help.

 "No! No no no nononono-"

 Roko flailed his limbs around to no effect as Helena walked up and placed the circle on his head. Immediately the circlet sort of magnetized to Roko's head and a the young man could've sworn he felt some sort of dark force entering his mind. But nothing else happened.

 "So how does it feel?" Helena asked expectantly.

 "Not all that different really." Roko replied.

 "Phooey." Helena looked concerningly disappointed and angry with the news, "Alright Corissa, try to get it off of him."

 "Sorry about this Roko." Corissa smiled apologetically as she came over and placed her hands on the cursed circlet. She took a deep breath, closed her eyes to muster up her concentration before she opened them and said, "Holy."

 Roko could swear he heard a hissing sound as some sort of invisible weight seemed to disappear from his body and the circlet popped right off.

 "It works!" Momo cried, "We can get them off!"

 "Is it still magical?" Kaguya asked, "Did you just take it off or did you wipe out the magical curse?"

 "Well, one way to find out." Helena said as she walked over to Corissa and placed one hand on her arms, forcing them down and placing the Intellect Coronet back on Roko.

 "What?! Oh, come on!" Roko said as the influence of the object seemed to creep back into him.

 "Right now let me give it a shot." Helena pushed Corissa to the side as she grabbed onto the circlet with her hands and began pulling with all her strength.

 The circlet refused to move, defying Helena's efforts in an otherworldly manner.

 "Still cursed, boys!" Helena declared as she wiped her brow with a grin on her face.

 "You shouldn't sound so happy about that!" Roko snapped, "Now get this thing off me!"

 "Ehhhhhhhhhhh..."

 "Helenaaaaa..."

 "Who votes we keep it on Roko?"

 "Why would you want to keep it on m-"

 Roko's question was interrupted by literally everybody raising their hands.

 "Democracy wins!" Helena cried over the few who continued to look guiltily away, "Alright Roko, you're keeping that thing on for the foreseeable future!"

 "I can't with you people." Roko growled as Momo let him go and he tried tugging at the circlet himself to no avail, "This is completely pointless."

 "Hey, we're going to help too." Helena turned back to the cursed equipment, "Uhh...what does this ring do again?"

 "Lets you cast fire, ice and lightning."

 "Cool, I'll wear this one." Helena said as she easily slipped it onto one of her fingers.

 "Not even a little hesitation?"

 "Why would I?"

 "Hmmm..." Momo walked over to the remaining items, "Which one gives me armament magic?"

 "The necklace."

 "Right." Momo picked it up with a conflicted look on her face, "I guess...this would be an opportunity to test out armament magic and see if I like it."

 "I guess?" Roko shrugged, "You don't have to if you don't like it."

 "No, it's fine." Momo hung it around her neck, "I'll do it."

 "So what's left?" Kaguya looked down at the table, "A sword and bracers?"

 "Yep. Sword projects a chainsaw and the bracers allows you to manipulate size of things you touch."

 "Right well." Roland clapped his hands, "I think we all know who's the best person to use one of these items. So-"

 "Roland, you're not getting a third sword." Helena frowned.

 "Oh come on!"

 "How are you even going to use it?! Are you going to put it in your mouth or something?!"

 "Well maybe! I could...do something...like that..."

 "Mikado." Kaguya turned to her knight, "Can you wield one of these?"

 "If you order it, I will." Mikado bowed politely.

 "Which one would you prefer?"

 "Hmm...I think the bracers would be best suited to my style."

 "Then I'll entrust you with these." Kaguya tossed the bracers to her knight, "If you ever feel overwhelmed by its influence please tell me."

 "Understood." Mikado said as he equipped them.

 "Wow look, all that's left is this sword!" Roland said as he reached towards the cursed sword, "If no one else wants it, I guess I'll-"

 "Actually we need at least one of the cursed items to start tracking the orc camp." Drift said.

 "GODDAMMIT!"